"Pieces of the Island"-An English Translation

June 20: Virtual protest during trial of Cuban rapper #FreeElCritico

Users of Twitter have planned a ‘virtual protest’ on the social network for this Friday, June 20th, starting at 9 AM, in solidarity with jailed Cuban rapper Angel Yunier Remon (“El Critico”) who will stand trial that same morning in the Eastern town of Bayamo, Cuba.

The protest is open to all users of Twitter who’d like to participate and will consist of messages using the hashtag #FreeElCritico, created to raise awareness of the musician’s situation. Remon, a member of the censured rap group “The Unwanted Children”, was jailed in March 2013 for producing anti-government music and for publicly voicing his pro-freedom ideas. Cuban authorities accused the rapper of “attempt” and “public disruption”, though they have failed to provide any proof (a common practice against those who dissent with the regime on the island). Now, Angel Yunier may be sentenced to 8 years behind bars, despite already having been kept for over a year in several prisons without having had a trial and subjected to several beatings at the hands of guards.

El Critico’s wife, Yudisbel Roseyo, recently explained that the authorities haven’t informed her of a specific time in which the trial against her husband will take place, except that it will occur sometime on Friday morning.